Anticreeper.



F. A. PRESTON.

v ANTICREEPER. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 16,-!916.

Patented June 5, 1917.

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F. A. PRESTON.

ANUCREEPER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE I6, 1916.

, Patented J une 5, 1917.

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FREDERICK A.VIRESTON, 0F HIGHLAND PARK ,'ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE P. & M. CO.,

OF CHICAGO. ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS. l

ANTICREEPER.

To all 'Lo/wm z' may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK A. PRES- TON, citizen of the United States, residing at Highland Park, inthe county of Lake and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Anti- Creepers, of which the following `is a full, clear, concise, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements ink anticreepers or rail anchors. 4

An anchor has been developed heretofore consisting of a transverse member which grips one side of the rail-base and has a dogI or lock arranged to hold the other side tov the rail base. The dog has to be forced into position by hammer blows by driving it over the sharp upper edge of the base, which results in stretching it somewhat, whereby the frictional grip on the rail base is not as great as it should be. Furthermore, there is little or no latitude whereby rail bases of different sizes may be fitted with the same standard anticreepers.

The object of the present invention is to provide a structure in which these difficulties are obviated, whereby the rail anchor may maintain `a. rm frictional grip on the rail base throughout long continuous service and whereby the rail anchor will adapt itself to slight variations in the dimensions of the rail base. This object is attained by a construction wherein a spring washer or other resilient member is so disposed with respect to the rail base and the two main parts of the anti-creeper as to permit a yielding action when the dog is driven on to the rail base, thereby avoiding the distortion mentioned, insuring a firm grip of the anchor on the rail base under all conditions of service and allowing some latitude for differences in the sizes of the rails. Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description hereinafter given of several embodiments thereof.

In the drawingsy Figure 1 is a top plan view of one form of anchorvwhich embodies the invention;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation thereof, partly in section;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4; is a rear elevation, partly in sec` tion, of another form of rail anchor;

Speciication of Letters Patent. n Patented June 5, 1917,

Appli-cation filed .T une 16, 1916.

Serial No. 103,967.

Fig. 5 is a section thereof on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4l;

' Fig. y@is a rear elevation of a thirdform of rail anchor, and

Fig. 7 is a similar elevation of an additional form of anchor.

The anti-creeper illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 consists of a transverse member l beneath the rail base coperating with a lock or dog 2 at one side of the rail base and having a resilient member in the form of a spring washer 3 between the base of the rail 4 and said transverse member to maintain a firm frictional engagement of the parts on the rail base. The member 1 may be made of any suitable material. It is illustrated in the form of a malleable iron casting so shaped as to permit of economical manufacture. The dog is made preferably from a steel plate. However I do not limit myself to ,these materials. The casting is provided with an integral railgripping jaw 5 at one end and a downwardly extending rib 6 at the other end. An intermediate tie abutting flange 7 is also formed integrally therewith. In the upper surface a recess 8 is provided, which in the present instance is of circular outline, to conform with the shape of the spring washer 3. Reinforcing ribs or walls 9 are arranged adjacent to the rib 6, a notch 10 being provided between said walls to receive the dog 2 and permit the latter to bear against the lower surface of the rib 6.

In applying the anti-Creeper to the rail, the spring washer 3 is placed within the recess 8 of the casting,after which the latter is hooked over one side of the rail base about as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The dog 2 is then hooked over the rib 6 and over the opposite side of the rail base, as shown also in dotted lines in said figure. The casting` is then forced to the left so as to fit the jaw 5 firmly over the rail base, and the dog 2 is forced upwardlyv over the opposite side of the rail base until the parts finally assume the position shown in full lines in said figure. During this action the spring washer 3 is compressed and thereafter it exerts a downward thrust against the casting whereby the dog maintains a firm frietional engagement on the rail base. It will be seen that, in the absence of the spring washer, as

the dog is swung to the final position it y would be elongated or stretched somewhat in forcing it over the edge of the rail, unless the casting yielded somewhat, or if said dog or casting did not yield materially the corner of the rail base might be worn off somewhat, giving a slightly rounded edge, as a result of which it would not be as difiicult to remove the clip as would otherwise be the case. With the arrangement herein illustrated, however, the line representing the downwardly inclined thrust of the clip against the top of the rail base passes through the point of contact of the dog with the rib 6 and through the rail base at a point Vsomewhat in from the edge of the rail, whereby there is no tendency for the dog .to slip off the rail. Furthermore slight variations in the dimensions of the rail base do not affect the security of the engagement, owing to the action of the spring washer. After the anchor has once been positioned on the rail base it is positively locked against movement toward either side. The creeping of the rail causes the flange 7 to exert a thrust against the tie 11, resulting in a slight tilting of the dog 2 which tends to further Y increase the grip of the anchor on the rail base. However, the security of the engagement is not dependent on such cooperation with the tie, and furthermore if the rail moves rearwardly there is no relaxation of the grip. In fact, if the flange V7 becomes embedded in frozen ballast a rearward movement of the rail would be resisted by said anti-Creeper. t

In the form of anti-creeper shown in Figs. 4 and 5,l a spring washer 12 is arranged between thetwo main parts of the anti-Creeper 13 and` 14, although-not in actual contact with both of them. The dog 14, instead of bearing directly against the rib 15 on the main member 13, bears against an intermediate piece 16. Said piece has a curved end 17 which ts over the rib 15 and is in turn embraced by the lower end of the do 14. It receives the downward thrust o the spring washer 12, which thrust is transmitmitted to the dog 14,- thereby maintaining the rm frictional engagement of the parts. An important advantage of this relative arrangement is that there is also an upward thrust or reaction exerted by the spring washer 12 against the main part 13 of the anchor, which results in pressing said main part firmly upwardly against the rail base, thereby increasing the frictional hold of the rail anchor on the rail base. In other words, the effect is such as to tend to `press the two main members of the anti-'Creeper apart at the point where they coperate beneath the rail. It also tends to press them toward each other in the sensethat the transverse member presses upwardly against the rail base and the upper part of the dog is forced downward against the top of the rail base,

Y the same asthat previously described.

In Fig. 6 I have illustrated another type of rail anchor, which permits a greater degree of adjustment with respect to rails of different dimensions. The main member 18 of the anti-Creeper is provided with a series of ribs or teeth 19 which engage corresponding teeth 2O on thedog 21. spring washer 22 is also provided, the action of the latter being similar to that described in connection with Figs. 1, 2, 3. The teeth permit locking engagement between the member 18 and the dog 21 at various points of adjustment of said parts toward or away from each other, whereby when said parts are simply driven together they will coperate to grip rail bases of various sizes.l

In Fig. 7 I have illustrated a further form of anti-Creeper, which combines the functions of those show n in Figs. 4 and 6. The spring washer 23 is arranged between the main Vmember 24 and the auxiliary member 25, which latter is provided with teeth coperating with teeth on the dog 26. The two main parts of the anti-creeper are therefore pressed apart and held in rm frictional engagement with the rail base in the manner previously described. Furthermore, the anchor is adapted to fit rails ofradically different sizes and maintain an eifective hold thereon.

It will be understood that the various embodiments of the invention herein shown are intended to illustrate the several features of the invention but are not intended to limit the same to said forms, as various other embodiments of the invention may be devised which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An anti-Creeper comprising a member beneath the rail base having a jaw tted over. one side of the latter, a dog engaging said member beneath the rail base and f1tting over the top of the latter to draw said member .upwardly against the rail base and a third member cooperating with said parts to increase the frictional engagement between them and the rail base.

2. An anti-Creeper comprising a transverse member having a jaw fitting one side of the rail base, a dog engaging the other end of said member beneath the rail base and fitting over the top of the latter to hold said member to the rail base and va spring washer carried by one of said members.

3. A rail anchor comprising a transverse member having a jaw gripping one side of the rail base, a steel plate engaging the other end of said member beneath the rail base and fitting over the top of said base and a spring washer arranged to exert a downward thrust on said steel plate.

4. An anti-Creeper comprising a casting having a tie abutting ange, a downwardly projecting rib at one end, a rail gripping jaw at the other end and a spring washer seated in a recess in said casting.

5. An anti-Creeper comprising a transverse member beneath the rail base, a dog fitting over the top of said rail base and beneath said member and a spring washer arranged intermediate said members, whereby it exerts an upward thrust on one and a downward thrust on the other.

6. An anti-Creeper comprising a casting having an integral jaw thereon and a tie abutting fiange, a dog, a member between said dog and said first member and a resilient member arranged to press said first and second members apart.

7. An anti-Creeper comprising a transverse member having a jaw at one end, a downward extension at the other end, a movable piece associated with said member and adjacent to said extension, a resilient member arranged to press said piece away from said extension and a dog to resist such action.

8. An anti-Creeper comprising a transverse member having a jaw at one end, a downward extension at the other end, a movable piece associated with said member and adjacent to said extension, a resilient member arranged to press said piece away from said extension, a dog to resist such action and teeth on said dog and said piece to permit adjustment of the anchor to rails of different sizes.

9. An anti-Creeper comprising a member arranged transversely beneath the rail base, a jaw at one end thereof, a dog to hold the other end thereof to the rail base, teeth on said dog to permit coperation between said parts at a plurality of positions of relative adjustment and resilient means for maintaining such cooperation.

10. An anti-Creeper comprising a transverse member beneath the rail base, means for holding said member to the rail base on one side, a -notched plate arranged to em-V brace the other side of the rail base and said member to hold the latter to the rail, said plate when it is being positioned acting momentarily to clamp said member more closely against the rail base than when in final position, and additional means arranged to yield during said positioning movement and thereafter to maintain the parts in yielding frictional engagement with the rail base.

In witness whereof I, hereunto subscribe my name this 6th day of June, A. D., 1916.

FREDERICK A. PRESTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, ID. C. 

